Army Medical Readiness Insights
The Army’s Surgeon General is responsible for reporting medical readiness status to the Force Health Protection Council (FHP) quarterly. The Surgeon General provides a number of key insights into the Army’s medical readiness. The article also covers funding requirements for USTFs and health care providers. The article also discusses the current Army’s recruitment process and requirements for health care providers. These insights can help soldiers and their families make informed decisions about the medical requirements they will need to perform their duty.
Soldiers assigned to a Warrior Transition unit or TPU will remain assigned to their current unit
WTUs and TPUs were established to address the unique needs of wounded and ill Soldiers who may require extensive case management. Soldiers assigned to a WTU or TPU will remain assigned to their current unit. This arrangement allows Soldiers with complicated medical conditions to remain under the care of their current unit while using the standard healthcare system. As such, Soldiers assigned to a WTU or TPU will remain assigned to their current unit.
Soldiers assigned overstrength to a TPU will have a maximum of 12 months to find a valid position that meets their COE
The Army defines overstrength as being more than the authorized strength of the unit. Overstrength may be a result of deactivation or unit reorganization, an assignment error, or an authorized exception to policy. It may also occur when correcting a perceived injustice. However, the ABCMR is limited to military issues and does not address the issues of a Soldier who is assigned overstrength to a TPU.
Funding requirements for USTFs
The Department of Defense has set forth funding requirements for army USTFs to support medical readiness in a number of ways. These requirements include funding for the medical labs and equipment needed to conduct combat operations. They also fund certain medical readiness activities like expeditionary medical capabilities. They also fund training, research, management and headquarters activities, procurement and civilian personnel. Funding requirements for army USTFs can be found at www.dod.mil/ustfs.
Health care providers
A major overhaul of the MHS system is underway and will likely take years to implement. A provision in the Senate report includes a requirement for the GAO to assess DoD’s wartime medical skills. The report finds no decrements in wartime medical skills, but does note some shortcomings in the DoD’s process for identifying key skills. The Senate report also calls for improvements to DoD’s measurement and tracking of critical skills.
Education
The New York Army National Guard was recently recognized as a leader in medical readiness. This recognition comes from the Medical Team Conference, hosted by Maj. Gen. Jill Faris in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The conference recognized the state’s work to make medical readiness a priority for Soldiers during fiscal 2021. The following are some highlights of the event. Read more about the event. Read the full article at Education for medical readiness army
